The Geometry of Birdhouse Building

Geometry students are applying their knowledge of area, surface area, and volume. Students had the choice of three projects: a hands-on birdhouse construction project, a floor plan project, or building a prism or pyramid. 

Students who chose the bird house start with designing their birdhouses in TinkerCad, students translated their 3D models into 2D nets, identifying and measuring each shape needed to bring their models to life. Using foam board, students are now cutting and assembling their pieces into fully constructed birdhouses. As a final step, they’ll calculate the total surface area and volume of their creations—bringing together design, geometry, and real-world application.

Students who chose the floor plan project start by interpreting three house floor plans. Then they calculate the area-specific spaces in these houses. They are given a budget to make renovations, and they must make some landscape changes and calculate the costs of those landscape changes. Lastly, they designed their own floor plans using floorplanner.com.

Students who chose to build a prism or pyramid had to first creat a prism or pyramid with a regular non-square base. The area of the base of the volume of the prism had to meet certain guidelines. Students had to draw a 2D net of their solid and then assemble it into a 3D prism or pyramid.